As the spring weather starts to heat up, so, too, does the business on the Heppler property in Emmett Township.

This year, the owners of Riverview Recreation and Hit 'Em Here on Columbia Avenue have added Riverview Assault, an indoor and outdoor paintball and airsoft course. It brings a new amenity to the more than 80-acre site, which has been at the forefront of local fun for more than a generation with go-karts, a golf driving range and batting cages. The course is outlined near Riverview Recreation and in the woods behind the go-kart track.

Owner Judy Heppler said the expansion is an attempt to reach an untapped local market. The design was put together by Heppler's son, former Mattawan police officer Martin Heppler, as well as several employees who wanted to use the spacious property for a new activity.

"We tried paintball a while ago but it just didn’t take off," Judy Heppler said, standing near an upturned wooden pallet on the course Wednesday. "Speaking with Martin and some of the other employees – one of them that’s really into it – we decided to give it a try and bring something to Battle Creek that they don’t have. The closest ones are a ways away and it seems like some of the things people want to do, especially the airsoft, which isn't as messy as paintball."

Story continues below

Riverview Recreation moved its indoor mini-golf course, replacing it with a paintball and airsoft area on its Emmett Township property.(Photo: Stephanie Parshall/For The Enquirer)

It began in the late 1980s with go-kart racing and bumper boats in the warm months and year-round indoor miniature golf. Added to its offerings in 2001 was the existing golf driving range, Hit 'Em Here, at 1790 E. Columbia Ave. The family also owns Riverview Excavating and Nutty Bavarian, a chocolate and almond shop, on their property and seasonally at Lakeview Square Mall.

Riverview Assault opened earlier this year. It maintains weekend and by-appointment hours, though it's expected to expand hours timed with the end of the school year. Heppler said she and her staff have tinkered with entertainment options in recent years to accommodate visitors' interests.

She said most decisions factor in the competition of nearby communities like Kalamazoo to try to keep entertainment dollars spent locally.

"Because (Kalamazoo's) a college town, there’s a lot more young people over there," she said. "It's not just us. Look at our shopping mall. People will drive 30 minutes over there when they can go to the same store we had right here in our mall. That’s why they’re closing.

"I don’t know how we get them to support local business but we need to while we still have a few left to support."

Hill said the Economic Development Corp. of Emmett Charter Township hopes to acquire a county-owned parcel of land on Raymond Road near the Heppler property. The EDC, of which is overseen by Hill and several members of the township board, wants to use the land to build a boardwalk that would feature businesses and a deck providing access to the Kalamazoo River for canoeing and kayaking.

The acquisition of the land could be approved by the board this week. If that happens, Hill said the township will seek funding for the boardwalk from the Kalamazoo River Community Recreational Foundation, a charity endowed by Enbridge Inc.

"At one point, Emmett was a great place to come for walking and trails, riding bikes on trails," he said. "Now the river is cleaned up (from the 2010 Kalamazoo River oil spill), we, as the township, want to capitalize and we think we can do it."

Heppler said the family has eliminated some entertainment components of the property in recent years, such as its arcade games. It's no longer enough, she said, to just provide arcade games when so many consumers access similar games on mobile phones or on a video game system.

Riverview Assault is an attempt to provide consumers something they won't find on their phones, she said.

"If we can get (kids) away from the computer and get them outside and doing these kinds of things, it would be better," she said. "We've just got to get them out here and realize it's a safe thing to do. As long as you have the safety equipment and we regulate it, as long as you know how much pressure and power it has, it's a fun thing and a safe thing."